Norman Tebbit

Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (29 March 1931 – 7 July 2025), was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1983–1985), and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party (1985–1987). He was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1992, representing the constituencies of Epping (1970–1974) and Chingford (1974–1992). In 1984, Tebbit was injured in the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where he was staying during the Conservative Party Conference, by the Provisional IRA. His wife Margaret was left permanently disabled after the explosion. He left the Cabinet following the 1987 general election to care for his wife. Tebbit considered standing for the Conservative leadership following Thatcher's resignation in 1990 but decided not to as he had earlier made a commitment to his wife to retire from front-line politics. He did not seek re-election as MP for Chingford in 1992 and was given a life peerage as Baron Tebbit, of Chingford. He retired from the House of Lords in 2022.